The Hajj Trail: A guide to the Muslim pilgrimage undertaken by 2.5million, the largest in history

According to Islamic tradition, Mt Arafat is the place where the Prophet Muhammad delivered his final sermon. Photo / Zaman Myhammad Fahad Faisal, CC

In May, Saudi Arabia issued the Hajj quota for pilgrims wishing to undertake the largest annual religious gathering in the world. Including a four-day journey from the Kaaba in Mecca to Mt Arafat, via the hills of Safa and Marwa and back, the distance is around around 60km. With href="https://www.nzherald.co.nz/travel/muslims-missing-out-on-hajj-travel-as-saudi-launches-new-visa-process-for-australia-europe-us/ZO6CAKBTRXHWQXZYDZMBTAD6AA/" target="_blank">previous years curtailed by a pandemic, the Saudi Ministry of Hajj and Umrah says it has granted quotas for the largest pilgrimage in history, including just over 200 places for New Zealand Muslims. Riazat Butt reports from Mecca on what it takes to make the holiest trip in Islam.

Straw hats, cross-body bags, and collapsible chairs: These are just some of the essentials Muslims bring to the Hajj pilgrimage.

Spiritually, the five-day Hajj is awe-inspiring for the faithful, an experience they say brings them closer to God and to the entire Muslim world.

Physically, it’s grueling. Pilgrims walk outdoors for hours in broiling heat around holy sites in Mecca and the surrounding desert. They are caught in unimaginable and overwhelming crowds, all trying to get to the same place. Barriers directing the traffic mean that if you miss your turn, you might walk hours more to get where you want to be.

So the more than 2 million pilgrims don’t just learn the complicated rules of how to properly perform the rituals, which began Monday. They also pick up helpful hints and tricks of the trade to get by, learned from other hajjis — as those who have completed the pilgrimage are known.

Here’s a look at what they say is essential gear.

Muslim pilgrims walk, holding their umbrellas at the Mina tent camp, in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, during the annual hajj pilgrimage on Monday. Photo / Amr Nabil, AP

WHAT TO WEAR

Dress for the heat, since daytime temperatures regularly soar past 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit). The majority of rituals take place outdoors in the desert, including climbing the Mount of Mercy and stoning the Jamarat, a row of pillars representing the devil.

Sun hats are key. Pilgrims often opt for wide-brimmed straw hats or even cowboy hats. Umbrellas of every color are everywhere. Some balance their prayer mats on their heads or the canopies from umbrellas.

All men are required to wear simple white robes without any stitching, a rule aimed at uniting rich and poor. Women must forego beauty products and cover their hair but have more latitude to wear fabrics from their native countries, resulting in a colorful display of Islam’s multiculturalism.

When it comes to footwear, it’s best to wear something that’s durable for the long walks but that also slips on and off easily, as pilgrims must remove their shoes before entering Mecca’s Grand Mosque.

Sandals are sensible, but some pilgrims say it’s best also to wear socks as the mosque’s marble floor can be surprisingly cold as they walk around the Kaaba seven times.

Egyptian pilgrim Umaima displays the contents of her bag outside the Grand Mosque in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, Saturday, June 24, 2023. Straw hats, cross-body bags, and collapsible chairs are some essentials pilgrims have on them as they perform the Hajj. Photo / Amr Nabil, AP

WHAT TO CARRY

A daypack of some kind is essential for carrying food, water, sunscreen and other sundries. But backpacks can be a hassle when you’re crammed shoulder-to-shoulder.

Far more popular are cross-body bags that you can access without turning around.

Many pilgrims also carry a separate drawstring bag or pouch for their shoes. Usually at mosques, you can leave your shoes with an attendant at the entrance, but with hundreds of thousands at the Grand Mosque, that’s a sure way to lose your shoes, or at best waste a long time getting them back. It would also mean you have to exit the same way you entered, not always possible when the crowd takes you in another direction.

Umaima Hafez, a five-time hajjah from Egypt, packs like a pro.

Sitting on her portable plastic stool, she reaches into her large pack and pulls out a blanket, homemade granola and crackers, a travel towel that she wets and places on her head when it gets hot, an extra-thick prayer mat — for her knees — and some medications. The stool fits into the bag as well. She’ll carry it throughout Hajj, then leave it behind for someone else to use.

She insists her bag isn’t heavy. “Everything is beautiful and easy with God. … And people give out a lot of water and food here.”

Saudi policemen hold their umbrellas at the Mina tent camp, in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. Photo / Amr Nabil, AP

Hassan Hussain, a 24-year-old first-time pilgrim from Britain, also went for a maximal approach. His bag holds his phone, charging cable, power bank, sunglasses, water bottle, British and Saudi currency, bank cards, his shoe bag, a prayer mat and hydrating facial mist.

He said his sister, who did the Hajj last year, told him what to bring. His advice to other pilgrims is to overpack.

“You don’t know when you’re going to need things,” he said. “The person next to you might need things. Just take everything and work it out as you go along.”

In contrast, Ali Ibn Mousa, a 30-year-old Russian and father of seven, is going for maneuverability and speed, so he stays light.

His drawstring bag holds only his phone and his pilgrim ID. He’s more interested in what he will bring back from the Hajj, saying that alongside the spiritual journey he’s on the lookout for a second wife.

“If I had a heavy bag, I wouldn’t be able to do some of the things I want to,” he said. “That’s why I take a small bag that is easy to carry, so I can run inside” while circling the Kaaba.

Muslim pilgrims rest in camp at Mina. Photo / Amr Nabil, AP

CAMPOUT CHECKLIST

The giant flows of pilgrims move back and forth between holy sites spread out over a length of more than 10 miles (16 kilometers) from the Grand Mosque to the Mount of Mercy, or Mount Arafat, out in the desert. Even within a single ritual site, it can take much of the day to walk from one end to another, like Mina, where pilgrims will stay in one of the world’s largest tent camps and stone the pillars representing the devil.

A pilgrim has to be prepared to be stuck in a spot outside for ages, waiting for a transport to arrive or a crowd to clear, sometimes in the middle of the night.

Ikram Mohammed’s supermarket in Mecca sells camping essentials such as lightweight tents, sleeping mats and collapsible water pouches.

“They buy dried fruit and nuts, biscuits, chips. Anything they can consume easily while they are on the move that doesn’t need refrigeration or utensils,” Mohammed said. A special section specializes in fragrance-free toiletries, in keeping with the prohibition on perfume.

Mohammed also sells souvenirs for pilgrims to take back home with them, everything from chocolate and sweets to water from the sacred Zamzam well near the Kaaba.

Another popular item: Pain relief cream for achy joints.

- Associated Press with additional Herald Reporting